Authors often feel alone, writing is a very solitary pursuit. What we don’t realise is there are millions of us “out there”.  Just because they are not sitting at our kitchen table sharing a cup of tea lamenting the decline of the use of proper punctuation, doesn’t mean we can’t feel part of a community.

The world has changed dramatically for those with tribal instincts over the last 10 years. You don’t have to venture out on a cold winter’s night anymore to seek the company of like minded individuals in public libraries. You don’t have to take the risk that in the group of 20 hastily convened authors you will be the only one that does not have psychopathic tendencies (although that might make a good plot in itself). The internet brings us thousands of resources, not quite as good at solving problems as a cup of tea, but hey you could combine both – surfing and chai !

I’ve been surfing and chai-ing myself recently working out how to find the perfect end to The Amazing Adventures of Thunder & Lily and found some fantastic sites.

So lets start with my absolute fav figment.com. A great authentic site that has heaps of opportunities to let your own writing be put out there and have lots of fellow budding authors review and help you. You can even invite your friends to come look at your work. They also have great pieces from published authors to provide inspiration.

Writing.com is also a great site, very like figment but has heaps more resources for challenges that we authors face and need some help on.

Another great place is TheReadingRoom.com which is a virtual book club. I’ve joined some of their groups and have found discussing great, and sometimes not so great, work helps in helping you solve your puzzle.

Post a note on this site if you have other sites that have helped you.

Happy chai-surfing !